title: A randomized, prospective analysis of five sperm preparation techniques before intrauterine insemination of husband sperm.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate pregnancy rates (PRs) in women undergoing artificial insemination with sperm alternately prepared by one of five techniques: sperm washing, Percoll gradient centrifugation, swim-up, swim-down, or refrigeration/heparin treatment.
  
  
  METHODS
  Each treatment group alternated in a different order through the five sperm preparations. Pregnancy rates were compared for each sperm preparation.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two infertility centers, one located in an academic institution and the other a regional hospital.
  
  
  METHODS
  Three hundred sixty-three women undergoing 898 artificial inseminations with husband semen with a progressive motile sperm count of >20 million sperm per mL were randomly placed in the five treatment groups.
  
  
  METHODS
  Pregnancy rates.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The overall ongoing PR per insemination was 9.7% (87/898), including 6.12% for natural cycles (n = 196), 12.8% for clomiphene citrate-stimulated cycles (n = 101), and 10.3% for gonadotropin-stimulated cycles (n = 601). The highest ongoing PRs for sperm preparations followed the swim-up technique (13.2%, 26/197) and the Percoll gradient centrifugation technique (12.7%, 26/204).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These data suggest that the swim-up and Percoll gradient preparations result in higher PRs than the wash, swim-down, and refrigeration/heparin techniques.
authors.affiliation: Division of Urology, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City 84132, USA. dCARRELL@MSSCC.MED.UTAH.EDU
authors.forename: D T
authors.initials: DT
authors.lastname: Carrell
authors.forename: P H
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Kuneck
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Peterson
authors.forename: H H
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Hatasaka
authors.forename: K P
authors.initials: KP
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: B F
authors.initials: BF
authors.lastname: Campbell
mesh_terms: D002499:Centrifugation, Density Gradient; D006063:Chorionic Gonadotropin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002996:Clomiphene / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D006062:Gonadotropins / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006493:Heparin / Q000494:pharmacology; D006801:Humans; D007317:Insemination, Artificial, Homologous / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D018873:Pregnancy Rate; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012034:Refrigeration; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D006063:Chorionic Gonadotropin; D006062:Gonadotropins; D002996:Clomiphene; D006493:Heparin